The Shadow Wanderers
by A.Z.E. Nildran
Summary: A great evil has awoken, and now it is reeking havoc in the world of Neopia. It is up to three unlikely pets to defeat it. Can they do it?


The Shadow Wanderers: Part I  
  
A great evil has been lying in wait for thousands of years. Now, it has awoken, and is reeking havoc in the world of Neopia once again. It is up to a triangle of three unlikely pets to defeat it. They must join together to defy this power. Break apart, and the world of Neopia is no more.  
  
Shamilia the female red gelert walked slowly along a dark alley. She had been abandoned a few days ago and had decided there was no hope of being adopted so she escaped from the pound. Now she was just wandering the streets of Neopia Central, hoping for someone who would give her a home, or at least some food. So far, she had found no one.  
  
***  
  
Rimsiko rolled his eyes at the newbies begging nearby. They were all over the place, especially in south Neopia Central. He was a green shoyru, and he was proud. Proud and selfish. He had no friends, and he didn't particularly think he needed them. He was a wanderer, roaming the streets of Neopia Central and other such places. Rimsiko had been alone for as long as he could remember; he didn't really remember where he had lived before that.   
  
***  
  
As a cart rolled by, Keari jumped out of the way. She was a yellow ixi who lived in a large house in Neopia Central with her owner. Though her family was rich and grand, Keari was not happy. Her owner was always too busy to play with her, and so Keari often stayed away from home. At the moment she was walking along a side street, trying to avoid the carts that were driving past.  
  
***  
  
As Keari entered the local café, a wave of noise and the smell of food drifted past her nose. Breathing deeply, she looked around for a table. She sat down at a nearby table and picked up the menu that the waiter brought.  
  
Looking up from his seat in the corner, Rimsiko saw Keari entering the café. He smiled to himself, and waited for her to sit down. Getting up from his own chair, Rimsiko walked over to Keari's table and sat down across from her. She lowered her menu and raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Who're you?" she inquired.  
  
"I am Rimsiko the Wanderer," he replied casually. "And you are Keari."  
  
Keari looked startled. "How do you know that?"  
  
"Let's just say I have my sources." He smiled at her.  
  
"Well, what do you want with me?" asked Keari, not really liking this shoyru.   
  
"What do I want with you? I believe you can help me. I do not know the details, but we'll have to ask Lensika for that," Rimsiko replied.  
  
"But how do you know I can help you?" Keari questioned further.  
  
"I have seen you before. I know who you are. You have good qualities, ones I hope can be put to use."  
  
"The use of whom?" Keari was still uncertain.  
  
"Various people," Rimsiko told her. "But you'll have to ask Lensika for more information, I don't know much."  
  
"Rimsiko, you're making me curious, lead on." Keari grinned.  
  
Rimsiko grinned back and lead Keari out the door. As they walked along, they soon came to the opening of an alley. Down near the end of the alley they could see three pets fighting. Interested, Rimsiko and Keari went to investigate.  
  
A red female red gelert was trying to fight a fire grarrl and a desert Aisha. She had bruises all over one leg, and was limping now. Though the gelert was looking tattered and worn out, she kept at it, trying to defeat the grarrl and Aisha.  
  
The gelert landed one last punch on the grarrl, and then the two attackers slunk away down the alley, seemingly tired of fighting. The red gelert collapsed, breathing hard.   
  
"Who are you?" Keari asked kindly.  
  
"Shamilia," she breathed softly. "Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Keari."  
  
"I'm Rimsiko," he said from over where he was standing. "I wonder if you'd like to come with us--we're going to talk to a faerie about something."  
  
"Why?" Shamilia asked.  
  
"You'll see. I can't really explain it. She can heal you too--looks like you need it," replied Rimsiko.  
  
"Okay, I suppose so," Shamilia decided.   
  
"Good," Rimsiko said. "Let's go."  
  
Rimsiko walked off along the alley, Keari and Shamilia trailing behind. He walked quickly and purposefully, as though wherever her was going could not wait. Perhaps it couldn't, but at the moment, Keari was wondering who exactly Lensika was. Rimsiko had said she was a faerie, but Keari still didn't know quite what was going on, or what Lensika had to do with it. Giving up on the puzzle of what was going on, Keari began to talk to Shamilia.  
  
"So, what were you doing fighting those pets?" Keari asked.  
  
"I was just walking along when they attacked me. I guess they just wanted to fight." Shamilia shrugged. "Some pets are like that."  
  
"You've definitely got courage to fight pets like that," Keari said.  
  
"Not really," replied Shamilia. "I just have to, that's all."  
  
"Do you have an owner?"  
  
"No. I was abandoned," Shamilia said simply.  
  
"Oh," Keari said quietly. "Well, maybe wherever we're going is better than before."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
***  
  
"So, what's going on?" Keari asked.   
  
Lensika shrugged. She was a beautiful light faerie, as most faeries are. "You have been summoned by the faerie council. Your task is to defeat an ancient evil that has long been lying in wait. I cannot give you more than a few instructions, but I can help you along the way."  
  
"Do we have a choice in this?" Shamilia wondered. Rimsiko nodded in agreement.  
  
"Alone you will be destroyed, together you will not fail," replied Lensika. "The fate of Neopia lies in your hands."  
  
"I think the answer is no," Rimsiko said. "We don't have a choice."  
  
"What do we have to do?" questioned Keari.  
  
"You have to fight an ancient evil power," Lensika told them. "I can equip you with weapons and give you advise, but the rest is up to you."  
  
"We have to do it," Shamilia decided. "For the sake of Neopia."  
  
"Yeah," replied Keari and Rimsiko together. "Let's do it."  
Lensika smiled. "Good," she said. "Let me get your weapons." She went to a cabinet in the corner of the room and opened the door, inspecting the weapons inside. "Hmmm, how about these." Lensika pulled three jet black weapons from the shelf. A bow and quiver of arrows, a sword, and a staff. "The shadow weapons," Lensika said, and handed one to each of the three pets. Shamilia got the staff, Rimsiko got the sword, and Keari got the bow and quiver.  
  
"Thanks," Shamilia said gratefully, taking a few practice swings with her knew staff.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Rimsiko said, drawing the blade of his sword to find that it was a gray blue color.  
  
Keari said nothing while inspecting her bow. It was made of a strong wood, though she didn't know what.  
  
"You will be the Shadow Wanderers," Lensika declared. "Good luck."  
  
***  
  
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Keari asked.  
  
"Yes," replied Lensika. "You can find this evil in a certain cave on Terror Mountain. I don't know exactly where the cave is, but I do know you can find a map to it in the Snowager's cave. You will have to find out how to defeat this on your own."  
  
"The Snowager?" Shamilia squeaked. "How are we supposed to get a map out of his cave?"  
  
"We will find a way," Rimsiko answered, still admiring his sword. He sounded so sure of himself, though the other two pets knew he couldn't be so positive.   
  
"Well, let's get going," Keari said at last.  
  
"Yeah, no time to waste," Rimsiko replied.   
  
And with that they headed out the door, Lensika waving goodbye. "Good luck!" she called. Shamilia took a deep breath.   
"Here goes nothing."  
  
To be continued...  
3  
  
  
5 


End file.
